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Grit buying guide

Updated: 23 October 2026

You are standing in front of an amazon.co.uk listing for a sack of grit, and the page does not agree with itself. The title may say ice, or it may say weed killer. One bag prints 23 kg in the title and 25 kg on the dimensions line. Another mentions BS 3247 in a bullet and shows no certificate. This grit buying guide is the checklist for the three de-icing sacks on the [grit comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/grit). The prices below are the shelf prices saved from those listings, in pounds. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Products Compared compared the listings and the saved UK reviews. Nobody here melted ice in a lab.

You are standing in front of an amazon.co.uk listing for a sack of grit, and the page does not agree with itself. The title may say ice, or it may say weed killer.

Our top picks

Darlies Darlies brown grit, 23 kg title

Best overall

Darlies Darlies brown grit, 23 kg title
7.6/10about £17.99
View offer
Laeto Laeto brown grit salt, 20 kg

Alternative

Laeto Laeto brown grit salt, 20 kg
6.6/10about £16.99
View offer
Darlies Darlies white grit, 25 kg

Best value

Darlies Darlies white grit, 25 kg
6.6/10about £16.90
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Read the job on the title
  2. 2.Colour is the mess, not a different chemical
  3. 3.Weigh the claim, then the price
  4. 4.A BS 3247 line is not a certificate

Read the job on the title

Start with the words that say what the salt is for. Darlies white and Darlies brown both put ice, snow, and melting in the title. Laeto is different. The title says brown rock salt weed killer, 20 kg. The bullets describe de-icing, and the material field says Grit Salt. Most saved Laeto comments talk about weeds. The Darlies reviews talk about melting ice. If your only job is a path before work, a title that already says ice is the cleaner match. The best grit for driveways page says who should skip Laeto for that reason. Do not turn a weed-killer title into a dose.

Colour is the mess, not a different chemical

White and brown in this set are both rock salt. Staffordshire County Council explains that highway grit looks brown because the salt is unrefined. National Highways says the material on major roads is rock salt, not stone chippings. On a retail sack, colour is what is left when the salt has finished melting. Reviewers of Darlies white say the colour avoids the brown footprints of ordinary grit. One buyer still says the contents were salt and sand, so white is not a purity certificate. A Darlies brown review wanted the sandy residue as grip on a steep tarmac drive. Others did not want it walked into the house. Colour does not tell you a lowest temperature.
Darlies Darlies brown grit, 23 kg title

Testsieger

Darlies Darlies brown grit, 23 kg title
7.6/10about £17.99
View offer

Weigh the claim, then the price

Use the title weight when you work out a price per kilogram. Darlies white states 25 kg, so £16.90 is about £0.68 per kilogram, the lowest shelf price in the set. One review says the bag was about 20 per cent light and that the seller refunded the difference. The Darlies brown title says 23 kg, which makes £17.99 about £0.78 per kilogram. The dimensions line says 25 kg, which would be about £0.72. The page does not say which figure is the net weight. One review says the bag was about 2 to 3 kg light. Laeto states 20 kg at £16.99, about £0.85 per kilogram. A lower headline on a lighter bag is not a lower price per kilogram.

A BS 3247 line is not a certificate

BS 3247:2011+A1:2016 is the British Standard for salt for spreading on highways for winter maintenance. It sets properties for that highway salt, and salt works better before ice packs hard. It is not a melting-temperature sticker for a retail sack. Only Laeto mentions the standard, and only in the bullets. The saved file has no certificate, no grade, and no moisture figure. Treat the bullet as a sentence until a certificate is attached. Neither Darlies listing mentions BS 3247. A white bag without the line is not automatically outside the standard, and a brown bag with the line is not automatically certified. If a contract needs the certificate, ask the seller for the document.

Common questions

Is a weed-killer title still de-icing grit?
It can be salt that people use on ice, but the title is not a de-icing title. Laeto's bullets describe ice and snow removal, a slight residue, and spreader use, and the material field says Grit Salt. Most saved reviews still discuss weeds. Buy it for a path only if you have read the bullets and you accept that the title says something else. This guide does not turn those weed comments into a recommended dose.
Does “conforms to BS 3247” mean the bag was tested?
Not on the evidence in this file. Laeto's bullets say the salt conforms to BS 3247. There is no certificate, grade, or moisture figure saved with the listing. Darlies white and Darlies brown do not mention the standard. A British Standard identifier tells you what a highway-salt specification covers. A bullet that names it is not that document.
Why does one Darlies bag say 23 kg and 25 kg?
The brown Darlies title says 23 kg. The product dimensions line on the same saved listing says 25 kg. The page does not say which figure is the net weight you pay for. One reviewer reported a bag about 2 to 3 kg light and a partial refund. Quote the title when you give a kilogram price, and say that the dimensions line conflicts. Do not average the two numbers and call that the contents.
Which colour leaves less mess indoors?
Reviewers of the white Darlies bag say it avoids the brown footprints they get from ordinary grit. Reviewers of both brown bags describe a sandy or slight residue and warn about walking it into the house. White is the cleaner-shoe choice in these reviews. It is not a claim that the bag is pure salt, because one white-bag review says the contents were salt and sand.
What must the page not claim about pets or melting temperature?
None of the three listings answers the pet question, so this guide does not call any bag pet safe. A non-toxic sentence on Laeto is the seller's claim, not a test. None of them prints a lowest temperature at which the salt still melts ice. Council figures for road salt, and merchant lines around minus 8 °C, stay with those sources. They are not a test of Darlies or Laeto.

Related pages

White or brown grit

Grit

Best grit for driveways: three bags, one condition

Grit for driveways: concrete, pets, plants and salt

How to grit a path: clear the snow, then salt thinly

Sources

Public UK sources first, then the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated October 2026.

  1. GOV.UK: clear snow from a road, path or cycleway (retrieved October 2026)
  2. Highways Act 1980, section 41 (retrieved October 2026)
  3. BSI: BS 3247:2011+A1:2016 salt for highways (retrieved October 2026)
  4. HSE: slips and trips FAQ (retrieved October 2026)
  5. Met Office: clearing paths and driveways (retrieved October 2026)
  6. National Highways: winter service (retrieved October 2026)
  7. RSPCA: rock salt and pets (retrieved October 2026)
  8. Concrete Society: de-icing salts (retrieved October 2026)